Land-mine and the system of exploding the same



J. D. CLARK.

LAND MINE AND THE SYSTEM OF EXPLODING THE SAME.

APPLICATION HLED SEPT- 5,1918.

Pawnted Mar. 16, 1920.

ii eras; arnnr t me.

JESSE n. CLARK, or NEW ALBANY, MISSISSIPPI.

1,3ss,eee.

' To all whom it may concern:

, explosive charge.

Be it known that T, Jnssn D. CLARK, acitizen of the United States,residing at New Albany, in the county of Union and State of'Mis'sissippi, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inLand- Mines and the Systems of Exploding the Same, oiwhich the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to explosive mines to be used in warfare, andparticularly to mines for use inland defense, having for its primaryobject to provide a device of Sill!- ple and inexpensive constructionwhich may be laid or set easily and quickly and which will prove highlyefiici nt in holding up the advance of the enemy.

A further ObJGGi of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter stated capable of being exploded from a point con siderably inthe rear of the fighting front or scene of activity, and which isconstructed and laid in such manner that dairger of the device beingrendered inoperative or inactive by the explosion of shells or materialin the neighborhood thereof is reduced to a minimum. 7

Still further objects reside inLproviding an explosive device of thecharacter stated which is capable of containing noxious or deadly fumesas well as shrapnel.

-lVith these objects in view, together with others which will appear asthe description proceeds, the invention resides in the novel formation,combination, and arrangement of parts, all as will be described morefully hereinafter, illustrated in the drawings, and particularly pointedout in the claim.

'In the drawings 1 Figure l is a diagrammatic view illustrating themanner in which the improved mines are laid and exploded,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through one of the mines,and Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through theimproved mine.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the mine is indicatedgenerally at L The mine preferably consists of a cylindrical casingformed of suitable metal and of any desired size, having a centrallongitudinally disposed tubing 5 therein to receive the One. end of thistubing protrudes from an end of the mine casing, and this open end ofthe tubing is closed by the cap 6. The tubing has arranged thereinLAND-WINE AND THE SY$TELM 0F EXPLQDING THE SAldE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patanted Mar. 16, 192i lipplicationfiled September 5, 1918. Serial No. 252,759.

an explosive cap 7 designed to be energized ignited by electricitysupplied by the wires or conductors S. r i

The mine casing is divided longitudinally by a wall 9, and one of thecompartments thus provided in the casing is to be filled with shrapnelor slugs indicated at 10 while the other compartment is to be filledwith absorbent cotton or wadding 11 to be sat- V lira-ted with poisonousgas-producing chemicals. The'shrapnel compartment may be filled throughan opening in one end of the tubing closed by-a cap 12, while thecompartment containing the chemicals may be filled through the openingclosed by the cap 18.

These mines are buried in the ground the desired depth and in thedesired places with the shrapnel compartment uppermost. This disposesthe compartment containing the gas-producing chemicals downwardly. Thewires 8 through which the electric current passes to ignite the chargesin the mine are connected with the latter and are also buried. The mineactuating system may be supplied with electric energy by the batteryindicated at 14, and a switch 15 may be arranged in the circuit forcontrolling the flow of current therethrough.

The improved mine system is adapted espeeially for use in holding upadvances of enemy troops and for annihilating the lat ter, and is toassist in covering or protecting the retreat of friendly troops. Themines will be laid close together immediately in the rear of the frontline positions held by the friendly troops, and the wires for operatingthe line of mines will extend beneath the ground and in the rear of thefirst line positions. The operator of the mine system will be sopositioned as to have a view of the battle line so that he will beenabled to determine the proper moment for exploding the mines. Thefriendly troops will be permitted to retreat past the line of mines, butimmediately upon the arrival of the enemy'troops over the mines, theswitch 15 will be closed, whereupon the explosive caps 7 in the variousmines will be energized, causing the high explosives in the mines tobecome ignited. The explosion of the mines causes the shrapnel to beforced violently upward and enemy troops in close proximity thereto willbe blown up or wounded. This explosion causes the wadding 11 to beforced downwardly into the ground. and

the chemicals contained by the wadding when liberated will produce adeadly gas to overcome or asphyxiate living troops 1n the vicinity. Itis prefered that the chemicals from which the gas is produced be of suchposed therein of a"diameter considerably less than the diameter'of thecasing, one end of the said tubing being projected beyond one end of thesaid casing, and provided with a closure cap, an explosive cap disposedwithin the tubing approximately intermediate the ends thereof, andelectrical conductors projected through the said cap and centrallythrough the said tubing and connected with the said explosive cap withinthe tubing, the Said tubing having integrally formed laterallyprojecting portions extending across the interior of the said casing atopposite sides of the said tubing to provide separate Walls formingindependent compartments, a gas producing substance in one of the saidcompartments, shrapnel in the other compartment, the said compartmentsbeing provided with openings at opposite ends of the casing and equippedwith removable closure caps.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of tWo witnesses.

JESSE D. CLARK.

Witnesses PERCY DYER, M RK 'L. MOALLISTER.

